Habashi House Review

Summer is a time for new and adventurous things! Christy is currently in Kansas City visiting, so we have starting our tasting adventures together! It was so hard to pick our first restaurant, but we finally agreed on Habashi House in the City Market.

 We have both been eager to try gyros for a while now and I had heard from some friends this was a great place to start! (This goes to show that you shouldn't always listen to your friends Amanda! ~ Christy) When I walked into Habashi House it was everything I thought it would be. The fragrant smell of the spices and meat cooking wafted out of the door as soon as I opened it! I was little shocked at the intense smell, but it only increased my excitement to try gyros!! We waited in line discussing what we were going to order. Of course, I being the extreme and daring one went straight for the lamb gyros with a side of hummus and pita. (Ha! And mine was better wasn’t it? ~ Christy) Okay, so maybe I should have gone with a safer choice and ordered the chicken gyro like my sister! I took my number and the wait began. As I was looking around I began to notice almost everyone in this little Middle Eastern restaurant was ordering the Arabic rice and falafels! (I think we should have ordered the falafels. ~ Christy) I wondered if I had made the wrong choice! When we received our food I realized that I had indeed made a grave mistake!!! I’m a trooper though and made myself eat half of my lamb gyros, the whole time I was trying to convince myself that it was delicious. I just couldn’t convince my mouth that I liked it. On to the hummus… not the worst thing I had ever put in my mouth, that would definitely be the lamb gyros! I have only ever had homemade and store bought hummus so this was my first impression of “authentic” hummus. I may have to start saying I don’t like hummus! It was so strong and had a vinegar taste to it. I was not a fan at all. After realizing everyone had ordered the Arabic rice I went to the counter to order some; I was trying to find something that I could love!! I was disappointed again! The rice almost had a sweet taste to it, maybe nutmeg? It definitely was not what I was expecting from my yellow rice! Last but not least, we ordered Baklava for dessert! I liked it a lot! I have never had Baklava before, but I thought it was great! If you are walking by Habashi House and happen to see the sign that says Baklava $1, you won’t be disappointed! (Whatever! ~ Christy) 

 So overall I rate Habashi House at a 2.

I only say 2 because I’m sure there are worse tastes to come!

 Ok, so my sister and I have been talking about how bored we both have been with food lately. We are just sick of eating the same old food that we have been eating all of our lives! It is time for a change I tell you, so we decided to be adventurous this summer while I am in Kansas City! We have made it a goal to go to at least one new restaurant a week while I am in town! (I’m So excited!! ~ Amanda) Oh, and I'm not just talking about a new pizza place either. I'm talking about completely different types of food such as: Japanese, Mediterranean, Indian, Brazilian, and even a little taste of the Holy Land!! To kick-start our little adventure off  we went to Kansas City's farmer's market, AKA The City Market! We had so much fun! It was awesome to see so many different cultures in one place! We decided to eat at Habashi House! Habashi House is a family owned Middle Eastern restaurant located right next door to the Al Habashi Mart which is a Middle Eastern grocery store! My sister and I ordered Gyros (It's pronounced Euros, Christy, not the way it is spelled! ~ Amanda; Like the money?? ~Christy ;Yes, like the money. ~ Amanda).

 I ordered one chicken gyro with a side of hummus and Arabic rice. The chicken gyro was DELICIOUS which is why I don't have a picture of it. It was gone in no time because I was gracious enough to share with my sister! (Thanks for that by the way :) I probably would have starved all day! ~ Amanda) I tried my sister’s lamb gyro and it was not good at all! HAHA!! Sorry sis, I just can’t help but laugh! I was NOT a fan! :( Sad to say, I did not like the hummus either. :( It was very vinegary which was weird to me. I have had hummus one other time before this and they tasted NOTHING alike. Even though I wasn't crazy about the hummus or the lamb gyro I am not quite ready to give up on them just yet. I still want to try hummus and lamb gyros at a few more Greek and Middle Eastern restaurants in KC before I decide I don't like them!

Next is the Arabic rice. I thought the rice was pretty good. (You are so weird!!! ~ Amanda) Not my new favorite food or anything but pretty good. Amanda, on the other hand, HATED it! I wish I would have gotten a picture of the face she made when she tried it!! LOL!! (I can duplicate it; it is called the face of disgust! ~ Amanda)

Right outside the restaurant, they were selling Baklava, so I just had to try it! (They were also selling hummus!LOL! ~ Amanda) After all, it was only $1.00!! I have never had Baklava before and sadly to say I will not be trying it again. It was actually  more like a dinner roll than a dessert. Desserts should be sweet and delicious! I was so disappointed! :(

Overall I give Habashi House a 2.

Just so you know, Habashi House wasn’t a total bomb. I would like to say I really loved the feel of the restaurant. It made my experience a lot more fun! (Wow, I totally agree with you! ~ Amanda)  We found out later that Habashi House is known for their falafel! So maybe there will be a next time after all. (Maybe. ~ Amanda)

After our experience with Habashi House we decided to order only what the restaurant says it is known for. So, if that item scores high on our rating scale we will then branch out and order different items from their menu.

Also, we want to be very clear that we are trying some of these foods for the first time. Our opinions and reviews can be compared to the average person wanting to branch out and try new things. These restaurants may make the best authentic dishes in the whole city, but we can only rate them by what our taste buds say! We are hoping to try multiple restaurants that serve similar dishes so we can really find out if we like these new cultural cuisines.